Competing myths of informal economies

Abstract

Roland Barthes once said that ‘myth has the task of giving an historical intention a natural justification, and making contingency appear eternal.'1 There is a certain myth associated with informal economies that posits these as productive and even natural in the same way as other enterprises, except that they fall outside the law. The fascinating, subtle and complex chapter by Lobato, Thomas and Hunter put forward a number of examples in constructing this myth. Law in this history develops, in turn, its own myth as an oppressive regulator to be avoided and circumvented if possible - or overlooked or ignored as in the ‘Happy Birthday’ example. Our purpose is not to contest this account direc..